Vehicles are typically equipped with a garment hook on the inside of the vehicle, normally over the rear side windows. This provides a place for an occupant of the vehicle to hang a garment to keep it neat. However, from time to time, the occupant may desire to have a hanger to better support the garment, avoiding unsightly creases that may arise due to the single hook support. A conventional hanger will help to avoid those creases, but can be an annoyance to the occupant when trying to store it while not in use.
A prior attempt to incorporate a hanger into a vehicle interior, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,491, only pivots the hanger arms from a downward protruding position when in use to a stowed position, but does not remove any portion of the hanger arms from view, creating an unsightly appearance. Further, in vehicles where it is desired to have an assist handle over rear side doors, for helping occupants enter and exit the vehicle, a hanger having arms that merely pivot to a stored position can interfere with the use of the assist handle or may not allow for an assist handle at all.
Consequently, the need arises for a mechanism that will allow for the use of a garment holder over a side window of a vehicle that provides for concealment of the hanger arms when not in use. Further, the need arises for a garment holder that will not interfere with the placement and use of an assist handle mounted over a rear side door of a vehicle. Preferably, the mechanism combines the two components to reduce the number of parts and the space used in the vehicle interior.